Auswandern Monument

It has been 175 years since the official emigration from Norway to the United States started. The leader of the Committee on Emigrant in Kvinesdal (Magda Dugan), with help from Arthur Svennevik, in 1997 started an initiative to raise a monument in memory of the great emigration. As one of the most American influenced regions in Norway, Kvinesdal was a natural place to have a monument. It was decided that they would erect a bronze monument that stands at full size: Father, mother and son say goodbye to the old father before they travel from the old country. The task of creating the monument was given to visual sculptor Bjørn Tore Skjølsvik  who was born and raised in Tvedestrand ,but living in Oslo. It was decided to unveil the monument during the American Migrant Festival. The aim was that the monument would mark the massive emigration from Southern Norway and contribute to maintaining the strong ties that still exist between this region and the Norwegian America.